--- title: "Operation Mincemeat: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/operation-mincemeat/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/operation-mincemeat" critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Operation Mincemeat (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 69 from 13 reviews: 5 positive, 8 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like Operation Mincemeat without being greatly stirred by it. The reviews lean warm and none is hostile, but more than half stop short of a full recommendation. The praise gathers around Matthew Macfadyen, whose quiet, faintly comic turn as Charles is picked out again and again as the film’s most affecting element, and around the mechanics of the deception itself, which several reviews find tense and intricately assembled. Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald and Johnny Flynn’s tongue-in-cheek Ian Fleming also draw notice. The reservations are about manners rather than competence. The film is called conventional, genteel and decorous; the love triangle is found soapy or underheated; the ending is thought subdued. The spread is fairly narrow. The Guardian goes furthest, arguing that the film never makes the scheme’s extraordinary true story work as fiction, and IndieWire parts from the majority on tension, finding the spycraft short of suspense. ## The AV Club — Brent Simon Rating B+. 6 May 2022. The critic finds the film an engaging, rewarding espionage drama, praising its balance of procedural intrigue and human complexity. They single out the character work around the fabricated love story as especially affecting. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/operation-mincemeat-review-colin-firth-matthew-macfadye-1848892796) ## Radio Times — Trevor Johnston Rating 4/5. The review finds the film unconventional and entertaining, with tension taking precedence over action. It praises Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen for combining gravitas with comedic bemusement. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-iz7yyd/operation-mincemeat/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 16 April 2022. Rooney finds the film gripping, classy, and satisfying, though one subplot feels excessive. He especially praises Matthew Macfadyen’s quietly affecting performance as Charles. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/operation-mincemeat-colin-firth-matthew-macfadyen-netflix-1235131166/) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 April 2022. The review finds the film spirited and gently entertaining, though its soapy love triangle and restrained style limit its ambition. It praises the dry ensemble performances and the film’s balance of wartime trauma with morbid humor. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/operation-mincemeat/) ## The i Paper — Geoffrey Macnab Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 14 April 2022. Macnab finds the film an absorbing, well-crafted wartime thriller, though its story feels predictable. He praises the strong performances and painstaking period recreation, but says the ending is subdued and anticlimactic. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/operation-mincemeat-review-colin-firth-matthew-macfadyen-johnny-flynn-kelly-macdonald-world-war-two-thriller-1576660) ## Variety — Guy Lodge Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 11 April 2022. Lodge finds the film diverting and competently made, but too conventional and stiffly decorous. He praises the intricate mechanics of the deception and singles out Matthew Macfadyen’s performance as the film’s most poignant comic presence. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/operation-mincemeat-review-1235229982/) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page was blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint from the review is available to identify. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/operation-mincemeat-movie-review-2022) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 11 May 2022. The page content is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is available from the provided text. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/movies/operation-mincemeat-review.html) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating C+. 13 May 2022. Ehrlich finds the film a spirited but middling thriller whose spycraft lacks suspense. He praises the more compelling private conflicts and emotional subterfuge beneath the operation. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/operation-mincemeat-review-netflix-1234724460/) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 2/3/3. 12 April 2022. Jenkins finds it a serviceable, enjoyable old-school caper with little to ponder afterward. He praises the ticking-clock tension and how the plot strands weave together, while criticizing the sub-par portrayal of Churchill. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/operation-mincemeat) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 13 April 2022. Bradshaw finds the film watchable but says it fails to make the scheme’s extraordinary reality work as fiction. He praises Johnny Flynn’s tongue-in-cheek performance as Ian Fleming. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/13/operation-mincemeat-review-colin-firth-heads-starry-cast-in-wartime-spy-caper) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating B. 11 May 2022. Bonaime finds the film intricate and surprisingly powerful, combining espionage with a moving account of wartime loneliness. He especially praises the performances of Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald, whose characters’ melancholy and longing give the story emotional depth. [Read the review](https://collider.com/operation-mincemeat-review-colin-firth-matthew-macfayden/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2022. Wilkinson finds the film elegant and gripping, though somewhat genteel and overburdened. She praises the tense central plot and visual storytelling, while faulting the laboured narration and underheated love triangle. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/operation-mincemeat-2021-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/operation-mincemeat.md